Warlocks, Dead Kings and Evil Priestesses
by CrystalClear98
Summary: Mum's off somewhere in the Bahamas with her latest boyfriend and I'm shipped off to the middle of nowhere Cornwall with some old dude. Speaking of which he's disappeared. I went into the kitchen a moment ago and there's some cute young guy making an omelette. What the hell is going on? Poor Morgan's summer just went down the drain. Rated K to T for swearing and teenageness.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One.

I pressed my head against the window of the taxi. The driver, Alan had been quite chatty, he'd told me his entire life story by the time we'd left London. But then we'd hit the M-something-or-other and he'd gotten all serious.

Now I had no-one to talk to . I didn't even have any music to listen to as mum had pinched my black Samsung Galaxy S4. Her iPhone had broken so she'd told me she was taking mine with her. I wasn't willing to let her take it without a fight though. That phone was a year's worth of crappy after school and weekend wages and tips at the local forties style diner.

"No way are you taking my phone! I worked bloody hard for that!"

"Oh for goodness sake Morgana it's just a phone! And don't swear!" Sandra Howes had shouted back. I had glared at her with enough force to kill an elephant. I hated my real name. She refused to call me anything else. As a result I frequently called her Sandra.

In the end she'd taken it anyway. Much to my ferocity.

All I had were my clothes, my toothbrush, toothpaste, my hiking boots and my secret. Not much, when you consider the fact that my journalist mother dates nothing less than millionaires.

Right now she's dating a lead singer from some pop band named Gary. I'm not really into rock music, I prefer AC/DC. I didn't exactly hide that either, which was probably why I was on my way to the middle of nowhere Cornwall to stay with an old friend of mum's. Meanwhile they're packing for a 2 and ½ month holiday to an island in the Bahamas that Gary owns.

Not that I'm not used to being shipped off to various relations. Whenever she gets a new guy it's like I don't exist. The rest of my family however are sick of being dumped with me, so now they've put their foot down. They will no longer be taking me for the holidays simply because I am an inconvenience to her.

"She's your _daughter _Sandra! Not a pet that you can fob off on your family members!" My aunt Flo had cried down the phone. Mum had hung up then and refused to contact them for anything.

I heard her and Gary talking about boarding schools whilst I was packing. They were in _my _room talking as though I _wasn't there!_ She's never even considered it before! But Gary's "_The One_" and some day when I'm older I'll "_Understand_".

The glass began to rattle under the weight of my head. I sighed softly. Only 4 hours to go until we reached Cornwall. I looked down at the crumpled piece of paper in my hand. Written on it in my mother's untidy scrawl was the address.

Avalon Cottage

St. Austell Cornwall

And underneath that a name.

Merlin


	2. Chapter 2

**Hope this chapter is okay!**

Chapter Two.

Who name's their kid Merlin? He must have gotten so much crap at school.

Only thing mum told me about him was that he was about 43 when she met him 18 years ago. Means he's got to be about 63 now. She also said he was nice, but then again, she said Tom was nice and look how that turned out. He came home via the pub every night and was eventually charged with the rape of several women aged 17 to 20, the kidnap of Toni Whiteheath and the murder of Hope Williams and her cousin Andy Saunders. Oh yeah, real charmer.

But I was willing to go on a little faith this time. I mean I seriously doubt the guy's gonna be a drunk, murdering rapist, he's 63 for god's sake! I know I've been wrong before but I was hopeful this time.

What I had to laugh at was Merlin's sense of humour. I mean seriously, _Avalon Cottage!_ The guy's a genius!

I was pulled from my thoughts by our arrival at a service station, where we stopped for sandwiches, a bottle of water and a loo break. We got back on the road at 15:10 pm and with 3 hours still to go we wouldn't get to Cornwall 'til about 18:00 pm.

I fell asleep shortly after eating my BLT sandwich (food of the gods I swear!) to my weirdest dream yet.

_I was stood on a woody hillside gazing down at a huge, white brick castle. I could see the bustling market inside. People in old fashioned clothing, chattering away like they'd known each other for years._

_I heard a twig snap behind me and turned to see a young (kinda cute) guy with clear, vivid blue eyes and messy black hair. He was wearing a brown leather jacket, a red neck scarf, a blue t-shirt of sorts, brown trousers an black boots. Normal clothing? Not so much. They were all sort of old, nothing like the sort of clothing we have today._

_Then he continued to walk towards the castle, as though I wasn't there. I stared after him for a moment then followed him._

_I followed him through the market stalls, past the guards standing at the entrance to, what I supposed was the palace and into a courtyard._

_There was a crowd gathered around a wooden platform. A man was brought forward and set on his knees on the platform. I had a bad feeling about this._

_"Let this serve as a lesson to all. This man, Thomas James Collins is adjudged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic. And pursuant to the laws of Camelot, I, Uther Pendragon have decreed that such practices, are banned on penalty of death. I pride myself as a fair and just king. But for the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass." My head shot up to a man on the balcony above and my stomach dropped. So this was Camelot, it was real. I noticed a young woman at a window of the palace. The disgust on her face was clear and I knew form the mumblings of the crowd what would happen next. I saw the guy from the woods looking up at Uther with loathing. How could Uther pride himself as anything? Let alone just and fair!_

_Then he brought his hand down and… let's just say it wasn't pretty._

_"When I came to this land, this kingdom was mired in chaos. But with the people's help magic, was driven from the realm. So I declare a festival to celebrate 20 years since the Great Dragon was captured and Camelot freed from the great evil of sorcery!" Uther spoke with pride."Let the celebrations begin!" I already hated this guy. It was at that precise moment that I noticed the elderly woman sobbing in the crowd. My stomach churned again. I had a really bad feeling about this woman. The saying 'Like mother like son' popped into my head for some reason. Where did the man learn magic? Logic told me his parents, my gut instinct told me his mother. She let wail of agony and the crowd and Uther turned to look at her._

_"There is only one evil in this land, and it is not magic. It is you! With your hatred, and your ignorance. You took my son! And I promise you, before these celebrations are over you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a tooth for tooth. And a son for a son." Part of me cheered on this little speech of hers, the other part of me nagged that she would be punishing the son for something he had no control over. Wait a second wasn't __**Arthur **__Uther's son?_

_"Seize her!" Uther called to his knights._

_But she started to chant hurriedly in a language that sent chills up my spine. I knew instantly what it was. The language of magic. The suddenly she was gone. Awesome! I have got to find out how to do that!_

_I looked up at the window where the woman with long black was watching and she turned, shutting the window as she went, looking slightly perturbed. Uther stalked back into the castle. And then I noticed the guy from the hillside walking away, I went to follow him but suddenly everything started to fade._

"Wake up kiddo! I can't take you any further, the tracks too narrow." It was Alan, the taxi driver, shaking me awake. I grabbed my back pack from the seat beside me and exited the car. I opened the boot and pulled out my heavy material suitcase.

I looked at to the west as I stepped out of the way of the car. The sun was setting above a huge lake. In the distance I could just make out a small island in the middle.

"Have a good summer Morgana!" I almost glared at him. But then I remembered that it wasn't Alan's fault. It was my mother's. So instead I smiled and waved at him as he drove off. Back towards London.

I turned and started down the narrow mud track that was lined with blackberry bushes. After what seemed like a millennia but was probably about 10 minutes I reached the most beautiful place I will ever set eyes on.

Avalon Cottage was quaint. It had a thatch roof, old fashioned windows and was covered in roses. A barn owl hooted at me from the chimney. I fell in love with the place immediately.

I opened the dark wooden gate and walked down the path that led to the blue painted front door. I knocked once. I heard the scuffling of footsteps and a voice cried,

"Down Delwyn!" A dog barked excitedly and I smiled brightly. I absolutely adore dogs.

The door flung open to reveal a medium height elderly man with familiar bright blues eyes. He had long grey hair and a long grey beard. Normally I would have advised him to cut it but it suited him, I was sure he wouldn't look right without either. I realised that this must be Merlin. He groaned loudly.

"I _knew _it! I told myself it was Friday! But oh no! That elderly part of my brain had to go 'Are you sure? Feels like Thursday to me.'" He sighed again and shuffled out of my way to reveal a bear.

No seriously this thing was huge! Upon seeing my look of uncertainty Merlin smiled.

"Don't worry Delwyn is perfectly friendly. He's a big softie really. He's a dog in case you wondering, the postman mistook him for bear once and called the RSPCA. Of course they saw the difference almost immediately, being from the RSPCA and all but they still stop by to make sure he hasn't eaten anyone." I laughed and reached to pat Delwyn.

"What does Delwyn mean then?" I asked as I stepped inside.

"Proud friend, bright friend in Old English." He started walking towards a door at the opposite end of the hallway. I followed behind a bouncing Delwyn.

"What breed is he? I've never seen a dog like him before." I asked as I wandered into what was obviously the kitchen. Merlin was rummaging through the fridge.

"Oh well you wouldn't have seen any of his type in London. Tibetan Mastiffs' don't do so well in cities. They need the open spaces." I nodded. Made sense.

I tucked my long, black hair behind my ears just as Merlin pulled box full of squishy brown stuff that looked like it might once have been salad out of the fridge. I made a face Merlin said,

"Well I was going to suggest salad for dinner but apparently fate didn't want us to." Funny way of putting it but it made sense. Fate's a bitch after all. Merlin was back in the fridge again.

"Hmm… There's some cold chicken here… I suppose I could pop some potatoes in the oven and some baked beans in the microwave… How does that sound?" His head popped up from behind the fridge door and for a second he looked like he had been decapitated. I shuddered slightly as I remembered the dream, but smiled and nodded at Merlin.

"Sounds great."

"Sounds as if I need to go shopping if you ask me but if you're game." He said as he pottered about the kitchen.

He asked after mum and her new boyfriend and I groaned.

"Don't even go there! They were talking about boarding schools right in front of me as though I wasn't even there!"

"Why boarding schools?"

"Because they can't wait to get rid of me." Merlin shoved the jacket potatoes into the oven and baked beans in the microwave.

"Want to feed Delwyn?"

"Okay then."

"Feed him in the utility room. The foods' in the cupboard with the bowl."

"Why do feed him in the utility room?" I asked as I walked into the utility room and opened a random cupboard. I pulled out a super large dog bowl and stared at in horror. Then I pulled out an extra-large can of dog food. The kind you see in places like Bookers, where people go to buy in bulk once every 3 months.

"Who's in here the post man?" From the kitchen Merlin chuckled.

"Nope. We're fresh out of post man. That's a Tibetan mountain man."

"So now he's a cannibalistic bear dog?" I asked laughing. Merlin laughed along with me.

"Not quite, I said man not dog. He'll have half the can." I stopped laughing instantly and stared at the can in horror.

"You pig Delwyn!" I exclaimed whilst scraping out half the can of dog food. I plopped the bowl on the floor and he dove in. I threw myself out of the room.

"Is he always such a messy eater?"

"Why do you think I always feed him in there?" Merlin asked as he opened the microwave and took out the baked beans.

I laughed and started searching around the drawers for cutlery. By the time I had found it and set the small table in the corner of the small, square kitchen, the jacket potatoes were ready and Merlin had dished up dinner.

"Does Sandra still get hysterical when things don't go her way?" Merlin asked. I choked my dinner.

"_Mum? Hysterical?_" Merlin chuckled.

"Oh so she didn't tell you how I met her?"

"No."

"Well she was at college here, staying with family who hosted college students. One night she came home late and they'd locked her out and wouldn't let her back in. so she was wandering around the area, absolutely hysterical. In the dark she'd managed to find herself nearby. Woke me up with her hysterics. So I went out and asked her what was wrong, she told me her story and she stayed in the guest room. A week later she was back. In hysterics." I laughed at this version of mum. Now when things didn't go her way she just got angry and fought for her own way. As a result she nearly always got her own way.

He asked about how I liked school and I replied with what most adults consider an unusual answer.

"I like it I guess. Most everyone else hates it but I like learning new things."

"Really? Your mother said you were like her, that you hated it." I glared at my potato.

"Yeah well she thinks I like the name Morgana Guinevere."

"Your full name is Morgana Guinevere?" Merlin asked in surprise.

"Yeah but I hate the name Morgana. I like Guinevere though."

"How come you don't like the name Morgana?"

"I don't know, I just don't." Please get the message and drop the subject. Thankfully he got the message and moved on to my obvious love of animals.

By the time we'd finished washing up and I was lying in bed waiting for sleep I had decided that Merlin was great. He had an awesome sense of humour. Whilst washing up he'd told me how he'd thought about naming Delwyn, Cavall. He was also the kind of person you wanted confide in. By the time we'd finished washing up I'd told him everything about myself. Except for my secret of course.

Then I fell asleep.

_I was in a sort of canyon. A faint breeze brought the buzz of softly spoken words._

_I walked around a bend and found myself looking at a dark, long haired woman, head first in a sort of hand cart. It was the woman from the window in the last dream. _

_Then there were voices, knights in red cloaks came stalking forwards. She turned to face them and the leader of the group of knights froze, then drew his sword._

_"Lady Morgana!"_

_I wanted to tell the fools to run, but knew what I was seeing was in the past, that they wouldn't hear me. _

_They were all thrown backwards with a golden flash of her eyes and she continued on her way._

_Suddenly I was seeing small moments in the past._

_The blue eyed, dark haired boy from the hillside in my last dream, crying over a man's body. A tall, broad man behind him saying,_

_"No man is worth your tears."_

_The same tall blonde man kissing a dark skinned woman._

_ The same pair, the woman kneeling before the man in a purple dress. Him placing a crown on her head._

_"I now pronounce you, Guinevere, queen of Camelot."_

_The blue eyed boy in a cave face to face with a dragon._

_"No there must be another Arthur because this one's an idiot."_

_"Perhaps it is your destiny to change that."_

I woke with a start. I finally knew who that boy was.

Merlin.


End file.
